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Routes shown and parking mentioned on this website are those used by the author. Readers heading for the summits are responsible for their own choices.
Playing the Game - Stones #21 - #30
Friday 30th October 2020
Our second Marilyn.
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Parking and access: well, on a normal day, this should be no problem at all, as there is a wee carpark right at the start of the track to the top, marked on the map. However, having already gone past a road-closed ahead sign, we arrived to find a digger and a veritable building site where we wanted to park; we parked carefully on the verge nearby. There should normally be comfortable room for 6 - 8 cars parking sensibly in the carpark. There is a signpost pointing up the hill to the track.
Trig point peeping over the horizon
#21. Having been assured by the BBC weather app that today was going to be a "better weather" oasis, we decided to make for Lendrick Hill [LeH]
(GR 019037) which we had both been up before, in the course of the Ochils Challenge Hike, a fantastic annual festival run by the Menstrie Scouts, and particularly the redoubtable Tom Mack, for about 30 years. On these occasions, because of the competitive nature of the event, there just didn't seem to be the time or inclination to delay and take in the surrounding views, so it was good to be able to take half an hour, albeit in a brisk breeze, to have a good look around the impressive 360 degree panorama - well worth the climb. The climb itself was very straightforward, with waymarkers indicating where to leave the forestry track - we took the second one (about 400 metres past the first), which pointed to a marked and well trodden, somewhat soggy path uphill, over a stile and to the summit, which has both a cairn and a trig point; the cairn is higher. Since we had previously climbed Dumyat, today's hill was our second Marilyn (see Note C) and we were able to look over to Kinrossshire and see another, Innerdouny (not to be confused with the Donald in the other direction, Innerdownie!). The return to the car was a pleasant downhill opportunity to retrace our steps and appreciate the sunshine and the lovely autumn colours.
Looking over to another Marilyn
For the account of the placing of the white-dot Stone on 16th June 2022, see the beginning of the section #51 - #60
Today: 2 hrs, 5 km and 255m. (Running totals: 44 hrs 25 mins, 92.5 km and over 4,490m)
Wednesday 4th November 2020
Setting records on a mountain day.
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Parking and access: because of the circular nature of our route, it made sense to park at the Ochil Hills Woodland Park between Alva and Tillicoultry, which almost always has ample space. Our access today was by taking the track uphill from the carpark to join the Silver Glen track, which we followed to its end, before turning right uphill towards our first destination.
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Three mountain tops, and records achieved: as we made our way to our first top, we passed the 2,000 feet level, so our three summits today were all officially mountains. Today was also big for me as I passed the milestones of 100 kilometres distance, 5,000 metres climbed and 50 hours spent laying out the Stones on this Game.
Looking from Ben Buck over to Ben Cleuch
#22. Once again, we set off up the Silver Glen track, this time on a pleasant day for walking, and once again we headed towards Ben Buck [BeB] (GR 896015), on this occasion continuing to the featureless flat top. The Stone was duly laid in the cairn, which already sported a colourful little trinket. Since it is the second highest top in the Ochils, Ben Buck offers an impressive panorama of the surrounding hills in all directions,
with the windfarm at Burnfoot dominating the northerly view. To the south west lies our next destination, only a kilometre away, with what must just barely be the 15m of descent required for our present summit to be an agos400 top - however, it's on the list, and there it will stay. The sunny day predicted had not happened, so it was time to get moving again before we cooled down too much. This high plateau had obviously had a deal of rain recently, as our 20 minute onward journey was very soggy indeed.
Note: #22, #23 - see Stones #39 to #50 section, Wednesday 27 April 2022, for update
#23. As we approached the summit of our next mountain, Ben Cleuch [BCl] (GR 903066), we were aware of ice lying amongst the grass, and this was no kind of a surprise, as here, on the "roof" of the Ochils at 721m, it was chilly enough for us not to want to hang about too long. As usual, there were other people on the top, some surprisingly lightly dressed for the conditions, but this is not unusual as the lure of getting to the highest top is the same the world over. Obviously, the potential views in all directions from this viewpoint are tremendous, and we could see for many miles in all directions. Ben Cleuch is a Donald, our second to receive a Stone after Ben Ever, and also has the claim to being the only Marilyn in Clackmannanshire, and our third to get an agos400 Stone after Dumyat and Lendrick Hill. The top of the mountain is covered in possible repositories for our Stone, so I chose to place it slightly off the top in a small rocky outcrop. It will be interesting to see if it survives the curiosity of the hordes.
#24.It's some time since I have walked from Ben Cleuch to The Law [TLM] (GR 910996), our third and final mountain for today, and I was initially very surprised to see how eroded the ground between the two has become. However, as we progressed, my surprise was at just how many people were out on the hills on a weekday in November; this could be explained by the Covid-19 travel restrictions discouraging people from going abroad and therefore having more time to exercise locally, as well as today's weather forecast having been for a nice day. Whatever the reasons, the ground between to two summits was definitely very squelchy, and it was a relief to reach the cairn at the top. Untypically for me/us, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the wind which we expect at the top of The Law was very moderate today, and we were able to relax for a few minutes and have a late lunch while enjoying the views over the hills and as far as North Berwick Law and the Bass Rock to the East.
Ben Cleuch from The Law
And now, time to go down, and head for home - the easy bit. Of course not! Previous experience suggested that the descent of The Law is long and painful - and previous experience was quite correct. Once again, the erosion in parts of the path was significant, and we were both taking it very cannily downwards, thankful for our poles. It's two kilometres from the top to the bottom of this mountain, and parts of it are very steep. The sting in the tail (a recurring theme?), though, comes at the very bottom where the rocky terrain calls for a great deal of caution. By the time I had got to the bridge over the Gannel Burn, I had pretty well decided that I cannot imagine the circumstances under which I am ever likely to make that descent again. Due to recent heavy flooding, damage to the path down through the Mill Glen means that the only way out from this point is - UP, and then follows a straightforward descent down to the Woolpack pub - which of course, is shut! The trek back along the path above the golf course was uneventful, but it was two sore walkers who were glad to see the car back at the Woodland Park. A classic walk, but on reflection, I would recommend doing the route in reverse - it's easier to go up The Law than to come down, especially at the bottom.
The Mill Glen Trail is
closed, so the only way is UP
Today: 6 hrs, 13.5 km and 775m. (Running totals: 50 hrs 25 mins, 106 km and over 5,265m)
Thursday 19th November 2020
Why does everybody think of an itch, and not a BIRD?!.
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Parking and access: the A823 is the road which takes you from Muckhart through Glendevon and on north towards the A9. Although it must be described as a rural road, it is very busy, with some fast traffic, and parking can be a bit of a problem at busy times. There is a large carpark at Glen Sherrup, which is handy for a few of the good walks and climbs in this area; it would have added about 1.5 km onto our walk today had we parked there, but we were fortunate to find a space at the beginning of the track up to the Green Knowes Windfarm
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It was now a day over two weeks since we had last laid a Stone out, and I had certainly taken a large part of that time to recover from the effort of descending The Law on that occasion. However, itchy feet and the promise of a bright, cold but dry day amidst the wet November days so far tempted us to venture out and add to another cairn.
Why on earth? This road could easily cope with 21!
The view North to Steele's Knowe and the Green Knowes Windfarm
#25. Well, the navigation today was not going to be a problem as the substantial road up to the Green Knowes Windfarm was going to take us most of the way to our goal - so substantial that it even has a speed limit - surely the 19 mph must be a unique sign in .. the world?! After a relatively painless gradual trudge north up the road for about one and a half kilometres, it was time to head off on the service road to Turbine 18 and find the quad track which leads to the summit
of Ben Thrush [BTh] (GR 987058). Although only 456m high, this summit was well worth the cold ascent, with the ground beginning to crunch with ice underfoot. The views were tremendous in all directions, and our old friends North Berwick Law and the Bass Rock were still shining away in the distant South, while the bright sun was lighting up the hills and mountains around us, some of which we have been up recently, but many more we still can look forward to getting to in the future. It was a bit too cold to hang about for coffee, so, having first checked out the direction of the quad track, we decided (wisely, as it turned
out) to retrace our steps downhill and out of the cold breeze. Note: an obvious route to avoid this would be to cut East downhill from the summit and pick up the Borland Glen track which leads South back to the main road. This would have meant a walk along that road for us today of just over a kilometre, and for anyone parking at Glen Sherrup, the distance would be nearer two kilometres.
Today: 1 hr 55 mins, 5.5 km and 265m. (Running totals: 52 hrs 20 mins, 111.5 km and over 5,530m)
* White-dot Stone placed in cairn on 22nd April 2021 (see below)
Sunday 29th November 2020
Into the clouds.
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Parking and access: we parked on the road beside the Woolpack Inn, since the small carpark at the bottom of the Mill Glen was full, possibly with the vehicles of local residents. The Mill Glen trail is currently blocked, so this has almost certainly affected the volume of walkers, although the route we took has always been popular.
Access to the hills is presently by a fairly long series of steps starting a few metres to the east of the entrance to the Mill Glen.
#26. Today's target was Elistoun Hill [EtH] (GR 926991) which lies up behind Tillicoultry. When Norrie and I met up, we couldn't even see the hills from where we were, but we were both very confident that we would almost certainly walk out above the cloud into sunshine and blue skies. I had swithered about whether I was in good enough physical condition today to make this top, but we decided that we would go as far as I was comfortable. There is an unrelenting ascent up the front of Wester Kirk Craigs and onto the old drove track leading onwards to Blackford, and this we took very slowly indeed.
Having veered off at an obvious junction, we then followed the track leading to Kings Seat Hill until we reached the cairn marked on all the maps, the reason for which is quite unclear. However, it did serve for us as a good point at which to turn East in the direction of the summit of Elistoun Hill. There is no apparent track leading to the top of the hill, so we headed cross country towards what looked as if it might be our goal, only to find that it wasn't. There were one or two candidates, but a couple of minutes to consult the grid reference app on the phone were enough to send us in what we reckoned to be the right direction. Needless to say, Norrie was in the lead by now, and I was disappointed when he signalled that there was no lone rock to be seen, as various websites had indicated was the marker at the summit of this hill. But wait - a thumbs-up, and he had uncovered it from its coat of moss, and the GR app confirmed we were at the right place.
The lone rock with its coat on, and then with a Stone for company
Clouds above us and below us. Looking down Harviestoun Glen and over to Knock Hill
It was now time to have a well deserved rest and a warm drink as we took some time despite the nip in the air to have a look around from this very featureless, probably seldom visited, top and imagine that the cloud below us was the sea and the hills in the distance were islands. We could look East over to Kings Seat and North to Andrew Gannel and Whum Hills which were standing out in the bright air.
Bright it may be, but it wasn't for sitting around in too long, so, cutting the corner, we made our way back to the track and retraced our steps back to the Mill Glen, where we explored a small detour which was steeper and slippier than we had hoped. However, we soon arrived back at our cars without incident. I am grateful to Norrie for his company and his photographs, and especially his patience in adjusting his pace to mine today.
This was summit number 26 from my list to get a Stone, and that means that one third of the targets have been visited. Weather, health and access issues around any Covid-19 travel restrictions will determine how often we can get out over the Winter.
Today: 3 hrs 55 mins, 6 km and 470m. (Running totals: 56 hrs 15 mins, 117.5 km and over 6,000m)
* 2nd Stone and White-dot Stone placed beside rock and cane on 10th August 2022 (see page #51 - #60)
Saturday 16th January 2021
Into the New Year.
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On 22nd November, Adam and Steely reported that they could see no sign of the Stone (#22) which we had placed in the cairn on Ben Buck (GR 896015) just a couple of weeks previously. I suppose that there are various reasons why people will walk all the way up to the top of the Ochils and decide that they are going to remove a marked stone from a cairn at the top of a hill, despite a friendly appeal on the stone that it be left in place, and I guess we'll just have to live with that possibility, sad as it is.
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Due to my ongoing physical travails, I had been unable to get out onto the hills for the past few weeks, so, even if I'd wanted to, I wasn't up to replacing the Stone - which is where Scott came in just at the right time. I happened to mention the situation to him, and as chance would have it he was planning a night walk with his son Craig, and Ben Buck was as good a destination as any. Having parked at the Woodland Park, they used the Silver Glen track up and back, only making a brief stop for a photo at the top due to a significant wind chill factor. So thanks to Scott and Craig, there is a Stone again on Ben Buck - at least until this morning!!
Sunday 7th February 2021
Into February.
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So, it's now ten weeks since I have been able to get myself up a hill, but things are looking up health-wise, as I have now been cleared fit to have my hernia operation as soon as a slot becomes available. And then, it's all uphill from there - hopefully.
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In the meantime, with the weather having been a mixture of snow, sun, wind and heavy rain, and with lockdown limiting travel to our immediate locale, the Ochils have been busy, with many beautiful pictures being posted on social media. For me, it has been a regime of regular low-level walks to try to retain some of the hard earned fitness gained in October / November, and I have even been able to get ahead of the Game by preparing some Stones for when we can get out and get them placed.
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Monday 1st March 2021
Another problem.
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As previously mentioned, there have been some reports that Stones seem to have disappeared from the locations in which they were placed. In the case of Colsnaur, it turned up in the cairn, which is fine, but the original Stone on Ben Buck was posted missing quite soon after it was placed. That situation was sorted when Scott and Craig took a replacement up about six weeks ago, and that Stone was confirmed to be still in place yesterday.
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Which is great, except that it does not seem to have weathered very well at all. This does not come as a complete surprise, since the potential problem had already been identified. As I mentioned last month, I have been taking the opportunity of my enforced inactivity to crack on with preparing Stones for summits still to be ascended - not, it turns out, with complete success, as a few which had been lying in the garden exposed to the elements, proved to just not be fit for purpose.
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This has proved to be a bit of a wake-up call, and the whole quality control system has now been addressed and hopefully improved.
Still there on Ben Buck after six weeks, but not looking too healthy!
These Stones didn't make it out of the garden!
Saturday 10th April 2021
Disappearing Stones
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As we know, there have been some reports that Stones seem to have disappeared from the locations in which they were placed. With this in mind, I have taken the opportunity of my enforced lay-off to think about the problem, and have come up with a cunning ruse, which I hope will work. It has been time-consuming, but time has not been a particular problem recently, and I have now produced a second Stone for each summit. I hope the strange decision is explained at this link.
Welcome to people joining in
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1. When I was in hospital last year, I had a very welcome unexpected visit from a former pupil of mine who had noticed my name in the course of her nursing duties. I was delighted to catch up with Evelyn, and am indebted to her for making a rather scary episode much more bearable, During our reminiscing, we talked about the walking we had done together 'way back then as part of her Duke of Edinburgh's Award training - she gained her Gold - and I told her about A Game of Stones. Lo and behold, I have recently got this picture of her holding the Stone on Ben Ever (GR894001, Map 2) - it fair cheered me up!
2. Someone else I am delighted to see joining in is Geoff, who has regularly reported on Stones over the past few months on his forays into the Ochils. Quite a few friends have offered to take Stones out and place them, but until now I have explained that the point of this project is for ME to get to the top of all the summits, and the Stones are the proof that I've been there. However, since my plan is now to put out two Stones, it seems that we can get ahead with placing the "yellow-band" Stones as soon as possible, while I can
totter along in my own good time and place the "white-dot" ones. Well, it seems like a good idea to me.
So, when Geoff indicated that he was intending going for a walk over to Blairdenon (GR 866109, Map 2), I suggested that he might take and place the yellow-band Stone, which he agreed to do, and it was done. As can be seen from the picture, the Stone is resting like an egg in its nest - in Perthshire apparently - and is unlikely to be a source of annoyance to anyone - you think?
Yellow-band Stone on Blairdenon
3. And so to our third joiner-in, who, unfortunately is anonymous - but I wish I had been on Millar Hill when (s)he found the Stone; it would have been great to experience the thought process on finding it and realising that the information on it was incorrect. Actually, it wasn't until after Scott and I had placed the Stone back in October and returned home that I realised that what I had always thought to be a part of Wood Hill is actually Millar Hill (GR 901988, Map 2). But this lovely person did not hurl the offending Stone away in a fit of pique, but rather produced a waterproof red pen from their equipment and corrected the name. And as if this wasn't enough, this friend - for so they must be considered - actually appended directions and distance from the present summit of Millar Hill to the top of Wood Hill, in case anyone was in fact looking to gain that summit. Ah, the joy of human interaction, remote as it might be, was definitely rekindled. Thank you, friend.
So what makes it a Hill?
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On his way out to Blairdenon, Geoff had a look to see if he could find Colsnaur North Top (GR861005, Map 2), unsuccessfully on this occasion. This is not very surprising, as this summit would gain high points for difficulty, if that was how the Game was being played - as it could be if you wanted. Part of the problem is that the top does not appear on any professionally produced maps, and only exists as a summit because of my choice of 15m as the prominence required to be a target in A Game Of Stones.
The notion of Prominence is widely accepted as being a difficult one to either understand or explain. While admitting to not being able to get my head around the various definitions and nuances of prominence, I have, because it is crucial to the definition of what counts as a summit in A Game Of Stones 400, made a stab at simplifying and then explaining the notion - hence my coining the term "simple prominence". My enforced temporarily diminished physical inactivity has given me the time and opportunity to wrestle with the concept, and I hope I have got close to explaining what I mean at section C of this link.
Thursday 22nd April 2021
A question answered?
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Despite still waiting for the summons from the hospital to come for my operation, the extended spell of good weather and the frustration of not being up a hill so far this year prompted me to think that I might, if I took things very slowly and carefully, manage to get to the top of Ben Thrush (#25) which we previously visited back in November, and which has a very gentle and fairly short approach - what could possibly go wrong? Well, in the event, nothing, really.
Lindsey and I had no problem at all parking the car and very gradually bimbling our way to the top of this hill, to find that the Stone we had placed only five months ago had disappeared. Or so it seemed , but in fact the Stone was still there - it was just the markings which had virtually disappeared. Lindsey noticed that one of the stones looked a bit different from the others around it, and lo and behold, there was indeed some writing still visible on the reverse.
The obvious conclusion must be that the paints and varnish have not been up to the job of surviving the weather found on the top of a hill. The slightly reassuring consolation is that the black writing is still legible, and the pen used for that is the same as that being used for the "white-dot" Stones.
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So what now? As I write, 30 of the Stones have been placed, and it will be interesting to monitor how they
Front face of the Stone - all markings disappeared.
fare. Meanwhile, the remainder of the yellow-band Stones will be given a coat of heavy-duty boat varnish, while we await with interest reports of the state of the white-dot Stones as they are laid - the first one went out yesterday. A bit sore at night, but not too bad now; what a joy, though, to get out into the hills and the sunshine - well worth the effort.
Spot the white-dot - and this is what is on the reverse
Today: 2 hrs 10 mins, 5.5 km and 265m. (Running totals: 58 hrs 25 mins, 223 km and over 6,270m)
Wednesday 28th April 2021
Fed up waiting.
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#27. Encouraged by our successful jaunt up Ben Thrush last week, we decided to try to attempt a new hill in the series, and possibly even two. With lockdown now allowing us to leave the Shire, it was possible for us to drive around to Sheriffmuir and park up beside a little copse at GR 833026. From here we set off slowly to follow an obvious track through the copse (which is clearly a popular picnic site, even boasting a couple of easy chairs !) and onward and fairly gently upward to the top of Glentye Hill [GtH] (847025). The highest point of the hill is pretty flat and featureless, so we retraced our steps about 200 metres back to a very obvious rocky outcrop where we placed both the yellow-band and the white-dot Stones. At this point, the very chilly NE breeze was making life a bit uncomfortable, and I decided that discretion being the better part of valour, we would leave our other possibility for today's foray, Mickle Corum, for another day, and so we retraced our steps back to the car. The good news is that caution was probably wise, as I experienced only mild discomfort and am looking forward to getting back out in a few days.
Spot the white-dot
Yellow-band in place. Not at the highest point
Today: 1 hrs 05 mins, 3.5 km and 200m. (Running totals: 59 hrs 30 mins, 226.5 km and over 6,470m)
Saturday 1st May 2021
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May Day meander
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Having recovered quickly from the jaunt up Glentye Hill a few days ago, it was fantastic to be accompanied by grandson Rory to place a white-dot Stone in the cairn on Spow Knob, which was the first summit to get a Stone over a year ago. Rory was very patient as we slowly made our way up the track until we left it just before the First Inchna Burn and made our way around the back of Myretoun Hill. The weather was kind to us, and we took the opportunity to look at the map and discuss contours and judging distance as we went. Having placed a couple of rocks on the cairn, crisps and chocolate devoured and Stone duly deposited, we then took ourselves downhill to join the path at the front of the hill and back to Menstrie. All in all just what the doctor probably wouldn't have ordered, but an emotionally positive day indeed for me. Hopefully Rory will have got a bit of an appetite for the hills too.
Today: 3 hrs 05 mins, 6.6 km and 345m. (Running totals: 62 hrs 35 mins, 233.1 km and over 6,815m)
The changeover of Stones
Friday 18th June 2021
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What's in a name?
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#28. Despite my not getting out as much as I would like this summer, this has not stopped some Stones from being placed, courtesy of Hugh on his various expeditions, for which I am very grateful. In fact, on 16th June, he was able to place five Stones, which is a record so far for any one day. Before he went, we did have a brief discussion about the name I had given one of the tops, as it is not named on any of the maps we have been able to look at, but it was too late to change the Stone at such short notice anyway, so we agreed that he would go ahead and place it. By further examination of the maps, I decided that the name on the Stone and lists was in fact just confusing for anyone finding it - so I changed it, and decided to call it by the only reference common to all the maps, namely its spot height. Thus was born top Four Seventyfour [474] (986070), in the shadow of Turbine 14 in the Green Knowes Wind farm.
Note: after much further research, this top has been renamed Rowantree Craig in the List (28 August 2023)
Spot the white-dot
Problem solved. Of course, the problem was that we now had a Stone out there which had duff information on it, and it had to be replaced. So, with a newly produced replacement Stone, Lindsey and I set off two days later from the wee car park at the foot of the Green Knowes service road to plod up to find the original Stone, which we did easily in the very pleasant walking conditions. The added motivator for our trip was that we were also able to put out the white-dot Stone for this summit before descending to the service road and then making the short climb up to Ben Thrush, where we were able to replace the original badly weathered Stone and check for the first time on the condition of a white-dot we had previously placed; it was looking great. Taking advantage of the pleasant conditions, we had a sandwich and cup of coffee before making our way back to the car after a very satisfying jaunt.
The cairn on Ben Thrush
- spot the white-dot.
Today: 2 hrs 05 mins, 7.4 km and 325m. (Running totals: 64 hrs 40 mins, 240.5 km and over 7,140m)
Sunday 27th June 2021
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Hillfoots 50 Hilltops
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#29. As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Hillfoots Rugby Football Club, Steely, Eddie and I did some work to come up with an idea to attempt to put Club members on the top of 50 of the hilltops within a 10 kilometre radius of the clubhouse in Tillicoultry between the middle of June and the end of August, with the intention of raising funds for the Ochils Mountain Rescue Team - which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary. I thought it was time to get the ball rolling, so, having downloaded the commemorative pennant, Lindsey and I set out to take a photograph of it atop Mickle Corum [MCr] (857025) whilst placing the agos400 Stones.
We had previously climbed Glentye Hill (#27), so we parked at the same spot as before and set off slowly in very pleasant walking conditions to revisit it en route to our destination. It was disappointing to be unable to find the yellow-band Stone where we had left it a couple of months ago, although we didn't hang around long to make an exhaustive search. The good news is that the white-dot Stone WAS in its place, although, intriguingly, it was upside down; hopefully the belt and braces strategy is working.
After a short descent, it was back upwards on an an obvious quad track until we reached a fence which headed off SE towards Greenforet Hill and Blairdennon, while we followed it uphill to the summit of Mickle Corum, with its handy cairn as home for the Stones.
The first Hillfoots 50 Hilltops pennant
The cairn on Mickle Corum
- spot the white-dot.
#30. Previous experience suggested that this might be enough for one day, but we were both feeling pretty good at this point and feeling no great pain at all, so as we munched our pieces and looked at the map, we agreed that we were too close to Little Corum [LCr] (860036) not to just pop over and claim it, since I just happened to have the Stones for that hill in my sack.
Perhaps we should have heeded previous experience!
Setting off downhill following the fence due north was fine, although the quad track had now disappeared, never to be seen again. Having climbed the fence and dyke, we headed off over some rough terrain towards the top of Little Corum, only to find that there was nothing to actually denote the top
There can be no doubt that the feelgood mood from the top of Mickle Corum was now vanishing pretty quickly, as we found ourselves at the top of what I have coined a B.I.T. hill - the only reason for climbing it is Because It's There. However, there it is, and it is now proud custodian of two agos400 Stones - although they are not on any of its tops. We have recently come up with the cunning ruse of carrying short pieces of cane with which to make a feature where no other is obvious on a summit, the assumption being that this is not going to upset anyone (!) Bearing in mind that there is no requirement in this Game for the Stone(s) to be at the actual summit of a hill, it made sense to use the nearby fence as a feature, with the aid of a cane, and this was duly executed. A peat scrape about five metres away seemed like a good home for the white-dot Stone, as illustrated.
Spot the white-dot - looking from the cane in the fence
And so it was time to return to the car - it's all downhill from here. And so it was, but with not the slightest sign of a track or even a sheeptrack, it was a pretty tedious descent to the road, followed by a trudge along a hot road (past the Sheriffmuir Atlantic Wall - http://atlanticwalls.uk/ ) to the car. Delighted to have completed the circuit, to have got some Stones out, to get the picture with the pennant and to have pushed the bodies just about as far as they can cope with just now. That Guinness back home in the garden was delicious and well-earned!
Today: 5 hrs 20 mins, 9.1 km and 400m. (Running totals: 70 hrs 00 mins, 249.6 km and over 7,540m)
Saturday 17 July 2021
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Crawling up The Nebit (Hill #03)
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With the welcome news that I had been scheduled to have a pre-op appointment in four days time, and inspired by the warm and sunny weather we were having, we decided that it might be possible to re-visit The Nebit to place its white-dot Stone and to check on the yellow Stone which, in May last year, was the third one to be put out. Parking this time at the Woodland Park car park, we made our way up through the shade to the Silver Glen track and out into the sunshine, and what proved to be a fair breeze - a zephyr no less; this time we were going up the south face, and back down the track.
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As we had planned, progress was rather leisurely, although I admit to feeling my lack of exercise recently, with my muscles making their need for oxygen quite obvious, and there were many more rests than once would have been required. However, it was a great joy to be out in this pleasant weather and heading steadily upward.
RIP my favourite old breeks!
We were well prepared for the ascent of The Nebit, having been there a few times before, and we know very well that there are a few "tops" before the actual one is reached. But one foot in front of the other worked yet again, and there we were at the little cairn marking the summit. The original Stone had been placed beside a big lone rock which is about 25 metres north of the cairn, and as I had feared was nowhere to be seen. I did find a geocache under the rock, but no agos400 Stone. That will have to be replaced one of these days.
The breeze on the top was becoming rather uncomfortable, so we didn't hang about too long to place the white-dot Stone in the cairn, take a couple of pictures, and then it was off downhill for just a few metres into the lee to find a lovely sheltered spot to have a drink and a banana in the peace of the countryside and look out over the neighbouring agos400s, Ben Ever, Craighorn, Millar Hill and Ben Cleuch in the distance.
The code on the white-dot Stone
The white-dot in the cairn on The Nebit, Bengengie in the background
And now to reap the reward of deciding to come up the steep way, we got to stroll back down to the track, which we followed to the Woodland Park track back to the car, declining the offer en route to exchange my walking poles for a half bottle of Buckfast Wine! We did wonder where those guys were going to be able to use their fishing rods.
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All in all a very satisfying three hours of exercise, sunshine and fresh air. With a milestone passed, too - since we started this Game, I have now climbed over 8,000 metres - and I have hardly ever felt the need of oxygen canisters!
Today: 3 hrs 05 mins, 5.8 km and 485m. (Running totals: 73 hrs 05 mins, 255.4 km and over 8,025m)
Sunday 01 August 2021
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On an ideal day for walking, we drove round to Sheriffmuir and having the little car park to ourselves, we set off up the Menstrie / Jerah track for about 2 km until we reached a break in the new trees leading towards the summit of Mid Hunt Hill (#04). We had to be careful with foot placement on the rough ground, but it was a fairly short straightforward ascent to the deer fence where a stone had been placed in May of last year. A thorough search produced no sign of the Stone, which is a bit of a puzzle, since this is unlikely to be a busy area for walkers. But we were prepared for this, and the white-dot Stone was duly placed beside a cane marker in the fence.
The now disappeared Stone and newly placed white-dot and cane
There has been some significant tree growth in this area in the last 14 months, but this did not affect our journey from MHH to our next target, Brown Hill (#05), although, as with all the terrain today, careful foot placement was required. We followed the deer fence downhill to the stile and then had a short climb up to the dyke which leads to the top of Brown Hill. Here we found the Stone still snugly nestled in the dyke, and it was soon joined by its companion white-dot Stone.
The question now was, is the Stone on Loss Hill (#02) still there? And the answer 15 minutes later seemed to be - no. After a descent and ascent which must push the limit of the prominence requirement, we started to look for the stone beside which we had left ours, but all we could find was a small pile of stones, which neither of us could remember being there before. After a search of the flat hilltop, it looked as if another Stone had gone missing, until I chanced to lift one of the pile, and lo and behold, there was a rather-the-worse-for-wear yellow Stone hidden underneath it. Deciding that we didn't really want to encourage the removal of stones from what is still a "working" dyke, we then placed the white-dot stone actually in the dyke, which is the same one as on Brown Hill, this time marked by a cane.
Update / 11th April 2022: After protracted poring over maps and reference to the internet, as well as personal experience, it has become obvious that there is not a 15m drop between Loss and Brown Hills, and since Brown is the higher summit, I have regretfully deleted Loss Hill from my List :( [Prominence]
The yellow stone as we left it beside its lonely neighbour 18 months ago, and its new home amidst a little nest. The white-dot Stone has been placed in the dyke about 150 metres to the North of this pile.
Mission accomplished, it was now time to return to the car, and we decided that we would be smart and avoid retracing our steps uphill for part of the way and follow an obvious break in the recently planted trees. Well, we did get back to the landrover track by contouring, but it would be fair to say that it was not a particularly pleasant route, which would have been unbearable in wet weather. We do seem to make some dodgy decisions when it comes to getting home! However, it was a lovely day for the expedition, and the feeling of being out in the open air and just general wellbeing was well worth the effort.
Today: 4 hrs 40 mins, 8.4 km and 400m. (Running totals: 77 hrs 45 mins, 263.8 km and over 8,425m)
Tuesday 10 August 2021
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Welcome to the Benominee Trail : killing two birds with seven stones (and four flags)
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As part of the Hillfoots Rugby Club 50th anniversary celebrations, I agreed to identify 50 summits in the Ochils within a radius of 10 kilometres of the clubhouse in Tillicoultry, so that members and friends could "flag" them before the end of August, and raise some funds for the Ochils Mountain Rescue Team, which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. I had decided to bag a couple of the more obscure ones which owe their names to our agos400 activity, but was now running out of time due to at last getting a date for my hernia operation next week.
Despite a thick mist obscuring the hills, we accepted a lift from Alison round to the same little car park on Sheriffmuir as we used last week, and were delighted to find that the visibility had improved so much that there was no reason for our not setting off up the Jerah/Menstrie track, reaching our turnoff point after about 2 kms of climb. At the top of the track spur, we went through a gate and began to follow the obvious quad track towards Big Hunt Hill (#18) where we had a welcome cup of coffee, replaced the original Stone, which had been reported as being in a poor state, placed a white-dot stone beside a cane and took a picture of the flag which Steely had forgotten to take with him when he bagged the hill three days previously!
Back on the Trail, we enjoyed the pleasant walking conditions as we made our way to our next target, Benominee (#19) where we were pleased, and slightly surprised, to find the original Stone nestled in the cairn and still in pretty good condition. The cairn is now even bigger, with the addition of another painted Stone and a white-dot stone, just in case.
Enjoying the pleasantly peaceful surroundings, we continued on our way along the trail until we reached the point where we thought we had placed the Stone on Colsnaur North Top (#07) and found to our consternation, that like Geoff before us, we could find no trace of it amidst the myrtle and blaeberries. After we had spent a fair time searching, the decision was taken to make life a whole lot easier for all concerned, and relocate the Stone to the very obvious fence a couple of hundred metres from what might be the highest point of a very flat top. A cane was put to use to mark the position of the Stone, and the white-dot stone was found a home under a nearby stile, which seems to point in the general direction of Bengengie, although there's no obvious path.
The new Stone on Colsnaur North and its cane a few metres from the white-dot under the neighbouring stile.
Lunch and another flag in the sheltered summit
We had now joined the well established and popular path which connects Colsnaur and Blairdennon, and it will be interesting to see how well the Stones survive, if at all. From here, we turned for home on the trail, and next stop was Colsnaur (#06), which by now was looking rather far away to me! One foot in front of the other did the trick, though, and I soon joined Lindsey, who had the table set and lunch waiting when I peched my way to the top of this familiar summit.
You've got to look closely to see the white-dot in the dyke on Colsnaur
What a beautiful day to be out in the hills, and I was grateful for the prana which was keeping me going. I know I was pushing my body a tad more than I probably should have been, but it was just so brilliant to be out here with such a feeling of achievement - and it was all downhill from here. Ah yes, a mere four kilometres down, with some forgotten muscles reminding me that they are still there, and, thankfully still working thanks to the miracle of natural adrenaline.
The descent did seem to take a long time, but there was plenty of opportunity to look about and appreciate the view and take in the remarkable changes to the landscape which are in process at the moment with the planting of 1.3 million trees between Menstrie and Dunblane five years ago; this vista is going to be very different in a few years time.
So, four new white-dot stones and three replacement yellow band Stones out today, with four pictures for the Hillfoots 50 Hilltops Challenge; all in all, a successful baptism for the Benominee Trail. And the rain came on as we reached the car.
Today: 5 hrs 10 mins, 11.6 km and 518m. (Running totals: 82 hrs 55 mins, 275.4 km and over 8,943m)